Help us decide what Sage Bolte will talk about at Gabfest 2021 during the Sexuality and Relationships themed day!
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Stupid Cancer’s Pushing Past Cancer: Stronger Together
Interested in a one-day survivorship conference, offered online and *this* weekend? Stupid Cancer, UC Davis Health, and UCLA Health have you covered! They’ve partnered on a free, one-day virtual event for the AYA cancer community. Join in on Saturday, December 5, 2020 for important information and plenty of opportunities to chat and connect with your peers.
After a long and difficult year, it’s more important than ever to gather our adolescent and young adult cancer community together.
Virtual Cooking Class
Join Nancy Ferro, aka Mama Lou from Epic Experience, as she guides us through the perils of the kitchen! Make one of her favorite, famous recipes within the cancer community! We’ll give you an ingredient list ahead of time so you can cook right along with her. Then chat the evening away with the Lacuna Loft + Epic Experience teams as your delicious food cooks along with others facing cancer.
There are two evenings to choose from, each with a different recipe, but you can only attend *one.* Below the sign-up form, you’ll find each recipe so you can pick the cooking evening you most want to join.
Who:Â cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers.
When: There are two evenings to choose from, each with a different recipe, but you can only attend one. Go here, scroll to below the sign-up form, and you’ll find each recipe so you can pick the cooking evening you most want to join.
Wednesday, November 18 @ 4-6 pm PT / 6-8 pm CT / 7-9 pm ET* via video chat to cook White Bean and Chicken Chili.
Wednesday, December 16 @ 4-6 pm PT / 6-8 pm CT / 7-9 pm ET* via video chat to cook Blueberry Banana Bread.
*(US time zones! We’ve found that sometimes these don’t match up internationally so please double-check what time to join in your area!)
How does it work? We’ll send you a full ingredient list in an email about a week before the workshop along with information on how to join the video chat. **You’ll need the link that we’ll provide you, a headset with a microphone, and a webcam.**
Come And Gab With Us
Presented by Elephants and Tea and Lacuna Loft, YA Cancer Gabfest’s mission is to Empower the AYA Cancer Community to Embrace Their Voice and Story.
Throughout the week of December 7th, we invite you to share, explore, and learn as we interact together. Gabfest will meet each day for 3 hours in the evening, starting at 7:30 pm ET. Each day will consist of a crash course, an interactive panel/discussion/talk, and a hangout (aka, Gabfest After Hours). You are welcome to attend a single session of the event or as many sessions and days as you would like. When you sign up below, we’ll send you everything you’ll need to attend the session(s) you are interested in!
We’ll offer opportunities to connect with other young adults facing cancer in crash courses, interactive panel discussions, hangouts, and more.
Each day will have a new theme(s). The Themes at Gabfest will focus on*:
Monday: Opening Day, Who is the Expert in the Room?
Tuesday: Self-Advocacy + Storytelling
Wednesday: Mental Health + Wellness
Thursday: Metastatic, Caregiving, and Sexual Health + Relationships (separate tracks)
Friday: YA Cancer and Your Body
*Please note themes are subject to change.
Who:Â the YA Cancer Community (young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers; healthcare professionals, nonprofit professionals, and patient advocates working with YAs facing cancer)
When: Monday, December 7th – Friday, December 11th via video chat
Come spill tea with us no matter where you are! Sign up below, now!
Thank you to our partners + sponsors!
Diamond Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Check Out Gabfest!
Presented by Elephants and Tea and Lacuna Loft, YA Cancer Gabfest’s mission is to Empower the AYA Cancer Community to Embrace Their Voice and Story.
Throughout the week of December 7th, we invite you to share, explore, and learn as we interact together. You are the expert in your own care, so along with experts in the fields, Gabfest will combine and elevate the individual voices of the young adult cancer community.
We’ll offer opportunities to connect with other young adults facing cancer in crash courses, interactive panel discussions, hangouts, and more.
Each day will have a new theme(s). The Themes at Gabfest will focus on*:
Monday: Opening Day, Who is the Expert in the Room?
Tuesday: Self-Advocacy + Storytelling
Wednesday: Mental Health + Wellness
Thursday: Metastatic, Caregiving, and Sexual Health + Relationships (separate tracks)
Friday: YA Cancer and Your Body
*Please note themes are subject to change.
Who:Â the YA Cancer Community (young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers; healthcare professionals, nonprofit professionals, and patient advocates working with YAs facing cancer)
When: Monday, December 7th – Friday, December 11th via video chat
How does it work? Gabfest will meet each day for 3 hours in the evening (exact time is TBD). Each day will consist of a crash course, an interactive panel/discussion/talk, and a hangout (aka, Gabfest After Hours). You are welcome to attend a single session of the event or as many sessions and days as you would like. When you sign up below, we’ll send you everything you’ll need to attend the session(s) you are interested in!
Come spill tea with us no matter where you are! Sign up below, now!
Thank you to our partners + sponsors!
Diamond Sponsor
Guided Yoga Nidra Meditation with Elephants and Tea
Over at Elephants and Tea, Angie Giallourakis (aka Momma G) will be leading four, guided yoga nidra meditation classes! Each class will start at 3:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm CT / 6:30 pm ET every other Sunday starting on July 26th. If you’d like to just join one class or join all four the choice is yours!
Sign up below to join Momma G! We look forward to seeing you! You will receive a confirmation email upon registering.
Session One: The Compassionate Heart and Your Thirty Trillion Cells – July 26th
Session Two: The Waterfall – August 9th
Session Three: Visualize Your Inner Strength – August 23rd
Session Four: Love Yourself – September 6th
Note: Each session will be approximately one hour. The session includes discussion following the group meditation for anyone interested.
Turning Your Cancer Story Into Comedy
Many AYAs love a well-placed cancer joke, and it’s not uncommon for us to share a dark sense of humor. This one-hour workshop, in collaboration with Stupid Cancer, will help you turn your young adult cancer story into comedy. Whether you want to climb on stage or beef up your meme game, we’ll talk about the best approach to get laughs out of a difficult subject matter and how to shape your own humor narrative.
Where: Online video webinar. When you register, the system will send you the zoom link to attend.
Who: Young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers.
When: Tuesday, July 14. 1-2 pm PT / 3-4 pm CT / 4-5 pm ET.
The Big Trigger of COVID-19: Journaling Techniques for Coping
Lacuna Loft and Young Survival Coalition are working together again!
Together with YSC, we are starting weekly online journaling sessions to provide techniques to address the big trigger of COVID-19. You are welcome to drop in once or come as often as you like. The sessions will take place each Friday beginning April 16th through at least the end of May, for half an hour at 9 am PT / 11 am CT / 12:00 pm ET via video chat.
These techniques will be short, concrete and time-contained. Jean Rowe from YSC is a certified journal therapist and, with the seasoned facilitator of many writing programs, Mallory Casperson (our CEO), we feel that you will all be in good hands. What a rich discussion awaits!
Register in advance for this program. You can attend one or attend all, whatever you need. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Come See Us At The YSC Summit!
We’re exhibiting at Young Survival Coalition’s National Summit in Austin, TX on March 8 – 10. Join us and other young women living with breast cancer for three days of workshops, support empowerment, and mingling with people who get it. The 3-day conference is focused on education, inspiration, and community building.
Lacuna Loft has exhibited for several years now at the YSC Summit. It is a not to be missed event!
Financial Assistance Through The Samfund
The Samfund is excited to announce that the application for their next grant cycle is NOW available through February 12, 2019!
The Samfund awards direct assistance to young adults who are struggling financially because of cancer. Our grants cover a wide range of needs, including medical expenses, living expenses, insurance premiums, family building costs, and much more.
Who is eligible?
Young adult cancer survivors who are eligible candidates must be:
Between the ages of 21 and 39 at the time when the application is submitted
Residents of the United States
Must meet ONE of the following criteria:
Completed planned treatment with no evidence of disease, or
One year following the completion of planned treatment with stable disease, or
In remission and on long-term hormonal therapy (such as Tamoxifen for breast cancer survivors) or long-term targeted therapy (such as Gleevec or Herceptin)
Individuals who have received grants in the past may reapply and may receive up to three separate grant awards. Anyone who received a grant in Fall 2018 must wait until July 2019 to reapply.
If you missed their “Grants 101” Webinar, be sure to check out the recording on their site here!
Important dates:
Tuesday, February 12th at 5PM EST: Deadline for all submissions. No exceptions or extensions!
Mid-late April: All applicants will be notified if they’ve been selected to receive funding.
Please email them at grants@thesamfund.org with any questions!